DEFEND YOUR RIDE: Sam At Tognotti’s

“I love to eat food. I’ll go far out of my way for something that I think might be pretty good.”

The Ride

The Driver: Sam

Car in Question: 1999 Silver Honda Civic

Spotted at: Tognotti’s, 2509 Fulton Ave, Sacramento, CA 95821

Odometer: 128,000

Car’s Nickname: Insurancemobile

THE DEFENSE

Q: Hi Sam. Welcome to Defend Your Ride Sacramento. What can you tell us about your awesome ride?

A: I’ve had it for about five years now, roughly. I remember I was just getting started at Liberty Mutual when my dad and I bought, so it’s been about five years now. It’s kind of a funny story. My dad and I were looking for a very specific car and it was probably like a full year. We were trying everything, Craigslist, online ads. We were going to dealers. We went to everything. We just couldn’t find what we wanted for the price. We drove by the Sun Valley Mall over in Pleasant Hill. We just went, hey, what’s that? It turns out it was exactly what we were looking for, so we bought it. It took like maybe two hours.

Q: Wow. That sounds both planned and impulsive. What is your car’s main use?

A: It’s to go to all my appointments. I’m an insurance agent. Not only do I have my normal commute, but if I have a client that needs to meet with me, and they can’t meet in my office, or if I have an on-site event, this is what gets me there. I’ve gone to Stockton, Auburn. Gosh, where else? I’ve had appointments in Davis, Danville. This thing goes all over Northern California.

Q: So you’re a traveling insurance salesman?

A: In a way, I guess I am.

Q: What brought you out to the food trucks today?

A: I love food. I love to eat food. I love to be near food. I’ll go so far out of my way for either a meal I love or something that I think might be pretty good.

Q: Do you have any rules in your car?

A: I do, actually. Some of my co-workers come in here sometimes and they try to crank the air conditioning all the way up, or turn the vents that are on me on them, or change the radio. I’m like, no, no, no. You can do that in your car. Don’t do that in my car. That’s about it really.

Q: Is there anything else you’d like to share with us about your car?

A: I’m more of a get there and back kind of person as opposed to all about prestige. You know, the thing gets me there. It’s reliable. I just don’t give as big of a hoot about how it looks.

Photos and interview by Lisa Palmer

View previous Defend Your Ride features as well as other great stories for people who love cars at CBSSacramento.com/Autos.